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The differences between junior networking engineers and systems administrators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a junior networking engineer and a systems administrator. Additionally, a junior networking engineer has an average salary of $84,480, which is higher than the $77,156 average annual salary of a systems administrator.
The top three skills for a junior networking engineer include switches, troubleshoot and lan. The most important skills for a systems administrator are linux, troubleshoot, and windows server.
| Junior Networking Engineer | Systems Administrator | |
| Yearly salary | $84,480 | $77,156 |
| Hourly rate | $40.62 | $37.09 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 44,165 | 134,500 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Junior networking engineers are entry-level information technology (IT) professionals who are responsible for managing the daily activities of local and wide area network systems of an IT organization. They must collaborate with senior network engineers to develop and implement network security procedures to safeguard the organization's networking systems. They are required to perform diagnostics and schedule preventive maintenance on the network system while responding to emergency work requests. Junior networking engineers must also manage network management programs and prepare network status reports for the management.
Systems administrators are employees who oversee information technology infrastructures in the office. They are skilled information technology professionals who are knowledgeable about the company's network systems and other technology-related infrastructures. They are responsible for installing, configuring, or updating network systems, software, and hardware. They also monitor the different systems and troubleshoot any issues that users may encounter. Systems administrators manage the access of users, ensure the security of the network, and address any challenges that users may have. They conduct repairs and routine maintenance to ensure that the systems in place are in the best shape.
Junior networking engineers and systems administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Junior Networking Engineer | Systems Administrator | |
| Average salary | $84,480 | $77,156 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $114,000 | Between $59,000 And $100,000 |
| Highest paying City | Mountain View, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Parsons | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a junior networking engineer and a systems administrator in terms of educational background:
| Junior Networking Engineer | Systems Administrator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between junior networking engineers' and systems administrators' demographics:
| Junior Networking Engineer | Systems Administrator | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.3% Female, 12.7% | Male, 83.9% Female, 16.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.6% Asian, 13.7% White, 61.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 11.5% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |